The best of times, the worst of times: How Diana Ross went from triumph to disaster in 1976
A true icon in every sense of the word, Diana Ross boasts one of the greatest success stories in American cultural history. From a failing Motown vocalist in the early 1960s to one of the world’s most recognisable voices less than a decade later, the Detroit performer has explored countless different avenues of artistic expression over the years and has certainly reaped the rewards. That is not to say, however, that Ross’ career has not been without its peaks and troughs, with 1976 definitely falling into the latter category.
It was Motown Records that first made a star of Diana Ross back in the early 1960s. She first signed to the label in 1961 as a member of the Primettes, who were quickly renamed The Supremes upon signing with the legendary soul label. However, the group’s first few years at the label were marked by repeated failures. Motown coveted hit records above everything else, and The Supremes struggled to make it into the pop charts. It was only the songwriting trio of Holland-Dozier-Holland that pulled the band out of that slump, just as Berry Gordy pushed Ross to the forefront of the band.
Being the allocated leader of The Supremes certainly came with its difficulties, a prevailing issue being Gordy’s hands-on management style. He ruled over the vocal group with an iron fist, forcing them to keep to an impossible schedule and putting heaps of pressure and mental strain on all members of the group, but Ross in particular. Things weren’t helped by Gordy’s romantic involvement with Ross, or when that tumultuous relationship produced a daughter, Rhonda, in 1971.
Still, from an outside perspective, Ross was going from strength to strength. Countless hit singles punctuated Ross’ time with The Supremes, and they only continued when she went solo in 1970. By the mid-1970s, the vocalist was on top of the world, enjoying commercial and critical success in all corners of the globe, along with a blossoming career in film thanks to her breakout role in the Billie Holiday biopic, Lady Sings The Blues, in 1972, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for ‘Best Actress’.
A few years later, in 1975, Ross found herself on the silver screen once again, in Mahogany. A doomed project revolving around a fashion designer and her rags-to-riches story, the film was originally intended to be directed by Tony Richardson and produced by Motown Productions. However, Berry Gordy soon dismissed the acclaimed British director and took on the role himself – a sign of the disasters to come.
Although the film was a modest success at the box office, it was panned by critics and audiences alike. As Gordy recalled, “It received the worst reviews in the history of the movies.” In other words, it was not a career high point for the former Supremes leader. Ross had hoped to follow up on the Oscar nomination of Lady Sings The Blues with a win, but her performance in Mahogany wasn’t even nominated.
The only light from this period seemed to come from the film’s soundtrack, with the title song ‘Do You Know Where You’re Going To’ topping the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1976. The song also earned an Academy Award nomination for ‘Best Original Song’, although it lost out to Keith Carradine’s ‘I’m Easy’. However, even this accolade came with its negative connotations for Diana Ross’ career.
Once a beacon of soul excellence, Ross’ musical material had largely diverted to disco and Broadway-style numbers by 1976, alienating her core audience and causing many beacons of Black music to accuse her of ‘selling out’ to the musical mainstream. All in all, the process of making Mahogany saw Ross fall from the respected icon at the peak of American culture, to a divisive figure at risk of alienating her audience.
It is telling of Ross’ unwavering success that a year in which she achieved multiple number-one hits and starred in a blockbuster film could be considered a failure. In reality, 1976 was more of a transitional year for the vocalist, seeing her turn away from her early days in Motown in search of something more modern and with a much wider audience appeal. Only a few years later, the vocalist left Motown Records for good, officially drawing a close to that tumultuous rollercoaster period of her life.
